


Bester's Unique Obsession With Rogue Telepaths

by pallasite



Series: Behind the Gloves [104]
Category: Babylon 5, Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, Essays, Fix-It, Gen, How canon misled you, Psi Cops, Psi Corps, Rogue Telepaths, Telepath culture, Worldbuilding, telepaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-20 16:25:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14264988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pallasite/pseuds/pallasite
Summary: You realize this is weird, even among Psi Cops, right?The prologue ofBehind the Glovesishere- please read!





	Bester's Unique Obsession With Rogue Telepaths

**Author's Note:**

> What is this series? Where are the acknowledgements, table of contents and universe timelines? See [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10184558/chapters/22620590).
> 
> If you like _Behind the Gloves_ and would like to send me an email, I can be reached at counterintuitive at protonmail dot com. Do you have questions? Would you like to tell me what you like about this project? Email me!
> 
> I also have an [ask blog](https://behind-the-gloves.tumblr.com/), a [writing blog](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/pallasite-writes), and a "P3 life" Tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/p3-life) with funny anecdotes. :)

I've already started to talk about how canon is obsessed with rogue telepaths, to the point that it omits and distorts everything about telepath culture unless it can somehow be contrasted with, or juxtaposed with, discussion of rogue telepaths - more on this later. Much more.

For now, though, let's look at how they treat Bester's early life. First, a game of "cops and blips" - we're talking about rogue telepaths in children's games and children's vids. Bester's even shown as worried, at the age of six, that Ms. Chastain's grandmother might have been - gasp! - a rogue telepath (she wasn't). Then, a few scenes later (but only a few days later), we jump ahead to when Bester is thirteen and the cadre is graduating - because canon can't find a damn thing worth talking about in his life between those ages. It doesn't have to do with rogue telepaths or the Shadows, and it's not graphic enough to paint life in the Corps as unending child abuse, so it's just cut out. Nothing to see here.

Then we skip ahead to when Bester is fifteen (by telepath age reckoning - he's fourteen by normal age reckoning). We're told that Bester spends every afternoon, rain or shine, in the West End Metapol precinct, going over rogue lists, and obsessing over every single life detail of every rogue telepath he learns about, from the "big fish" to random "small fish". His classmates grudgingly respect him for having the best grades in school, but they resent him for always pulling himself out the group and (to them) acting like he's better than they are. Life in the Corps is actually _highly social_ and very tightly-knit - and he couldn't be bothered with any such activities, because he has a unique obsession with rogue telepaths.

And it's true that he does - I'm simply pointing out that by focusing the narrative on him, and not including any pieces in canon of "typical" Corps life, the book reinforces the narratives found throughout canon as a whole, here, namely that everything "important" in the Corps, even the story of the Corps itself, is related to rogue telepaths (or Vorlons/Shadows) somehow.

You've been misled. It's not. Rogue telepaths aren't actually important at all, let alone the center of gravity in the story of the Corps and the life of most telepaths - Bester just happens to be uniquely obsessed with them. He's so obsessed with them, in fact, that a Psi Cop named Mr. Van Ark, who works at the West End precinct, tells him to _get a life_ \- to get some friends, to go on a picnic, to enjoy the outdoors. Bester's reaction is to think (to himself) that he intends to have a higher rank than Van Ark by the time he reaches his age, that he intends to "outwork" everyone, and keep proving himself "the best," as if this will make him "the best."

The Corps never taught him that, though - they've been trying to teach him the opposite.

Deadly Relations, p. 42-43:

          Van Ark chuckled. "How long have you been coming in here anyway, Mr. Bester? Four years now? You follow these Blips like some kids follow baseball or soccer."

          "Yes, sir. When I become a Psi Cop, I want to know who they are."

          "When? Not if? You've certainly got no problem with confidence, Mr. Bester. Anyway, it's good to see a youngster taking such an active interest. You're a good example. Still-" he widened his hands expressively, "- you're in here every day, rain or shine! Don't you ever just take a day off? Fly a kite, take a girl on a picnic? When you get to be my age, you'll regret it."

          Al reflected - very carefully, very controlled - that when he got as old as Van Ark, he intended to have a much higher rank than lieutenant, whether the title was spoken or not.

          "I'm going hiking this weekend," he remarked, to cover any hint of his reaction.

          "Hah. Sounds like more work to me. But to each his own."

If canon were to include perspectives of other Psi Cops, we would see how unusual Bester's obsessions really are. He's been coming to the West End precinct to follow rogue telepath lists since he was (by normal age reckoning)  _ten years old?_ Still in the cadres?

Bester didn't start this weird obsessive behavior when he got to the Minor Academy (at thirteen) - he's been doing this since he was ten or eleven. Leaving his cadre, going off and doing this instead.

Psi Cops may be tasked with tracking down rogues (and other telepath criminals) for their _work_ , but this doesn't _define them as people_ , nor does this issue "define life in the Corps." Psi Cops have lives and interests outside of work. They have families. They enjoy sports, music, hobbies, and time spent with their friends.

Nor does this make them "lazy" or "weak," as Dr. Bey later tries (in vain) to explain to Bester. This makes them well-rounded people, and makes them _more_ resilient to the traumas they endure in their work, not less. We see some of these qualities in the scenes with Dr. Bey, but then it's out of the book again - this time for good, since the books are focusing on Bester personally, and he's weird like that.

We never hear much about "typical" Psi Cops (Dr. Bey aside, and he's not typical, either, for other reasons). We don't see how they feel about various issues, including (but not limited to) their work. When we do hear about them, it's from Bester's adolescent, self-centered point of view.

And while the material about his life in this time period is true, in some critical ways context has been omitted - context that would help the readers better understand the full picture of what's being shown. One missing piece is an in-depth portrayal of an ordinary childhood in the cadres - not Cadre Prime, and perhaps not even in Geneva. (I try to remedy this, but I can't focus the whole book on it, when it could be the subject of an entire book.) Another missing piece is the omitted years of Bester's childhood, with his cadre. A third missing piece is the life of a "typical" Psi Cop, someone who does have close friends and family, someone with a wide-range of interests, someone who isn't obsessed with rogue telepaths and their capture.

Readers who are primed to see everything about the Corps in light of rogue telepaths (because canon says so) are more likely to see Bester's obsessions as consistent with their expectations for Corps life, and thus, they are unlikely to fully recognize just how _weird_ Bester's adolescent behavior really is - and not just in general, but even for a teen raised in the Corps, and even for a future Psi Cop raised in the Corps.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I wish I could write an entire book about Dr. Bey's history. If I could tell his story, I could show how a "later," through a combination of perseverance, talent, and personal charisma became the chief of MetaPol in an era when all top jobs went not just to people raised in the Corps, but to Cadre Primers specifically. A book showing how he came from the outside, built all of those relationships, and rose to the top despite the odds, would offer readers far more insight into telepath culture, in some ways, than the story of Bester's lonely adolescence. Corps-centered narratives, even Psi Cop-centered narratives, should be about  _relationships_ among people in the Corps, not about rogue telepaths, their capture, their crimes, or their supposed "freedom."

The central story is actually about the tight-knit telepath community, how mundanes have oppressed telepaths for a hundred and fifty years, and how telepaths tried - and failed - to rise up against their oppressors (who succeeded in dividing and conquering them - see, the Telepath War).

Sadly, I can't write that book about Bey, except from 30,000 feet. It frustrates me because I know that having these pieces would greatly help my reading audience. I will do what I can.


End file.
